20 Fast Moving Small Businesses to Start in Nigeria (2024)
Would it be an online business or a proper brick and mortar business?
Would you start a business that requires little or no capital or one that has a capital barrier and is exclusive to a few entrepreneurs?
Would you start a proven business with track records or would you try out an innovative startup business that could help you create generational wealth?
You can see that there are many types of small businesses and you can be any one of the many different kinds of entrepreneurs out there.
Well, in my case, if I were to start a small business in Nigeria today, I would start a fast moving one that can help me start making money ASAP.
You see, the Nigerian business environment is not too favorable to small businesses. Statistics have shown that about 80% of SMEs die within 5 years.
The scary thing is, many of these incidents are either unreported or underreported in order to protect government interests.
My point is, as an entrepreneur, I want to enter and exit businesses profitably, and if possible, as quickly as possible.
So, I'm more inclined to start a business that is fast moving and more likely to start generating cash flow right from the start.
So, without mincing words, I've compiled a list of small businesses that are easily profitable and can start generating cash flow as quickly as possible.
If you're looking to start a lucrative small business in Nigeria this year, then this list should help you make a concrete choice.
Let's get right into it.
POS Agent Business
The POS agent business is a guaranteed money maker when it comes to starting a small business that generates daily income.
If you locate your POS agent business in a location that is less competitive and have many unbanked customers, then you'll make a lot of money.
The good thing with a POS agent business is that it's not capital intensive. You could start with as little as 200k Naira and grow from there.
I have a friend who has a small network of POS agents, about 20 of them, and he makes a daily profit of nothing less than 150k Naira. That's easily over 4 million Naira in profit per month.
Smartphone Repairs
If I had the chance, I would have a phone repair shop in every street in Nigeria.
I mean, this is a highly demanded service that has the potential to fetch more money than the average supermarket.
Almost everyone today owns a smartphone, and they would usually need help with repair, installation, or even accessories. So, this is a guaranteed money spinner for anyone with phone repair skills.
Recently, I had a discussion with a phone repair guy, and I asked him how much it would cost him to teach someone how to repair smartphones.
He said it would cost nothing less than 200k Naira. I asked him why it is so expensive to acquire phone repair skills, and he laughed and confidently told me that anyone that acquires phone repair skills would be making more than that 200k Naira on a monthly basis.
Imagine having a skill-based business that makes you at least 200k in monthly income without investing in inventory or even marketing.
That's definitely a money spinner right there.
Phone Accessories Business
Just like a smartphone repair business, the odds are in your favor if you start a phone accessories business in Nigeria.
Do you know that smartphone penetration in Nigeria is projected to reach 60% by 2025, with about 40 million users?
That means, one in five people you meet in Nigeria would likely have a smartphone. That's huge numbers right there.
With the rate of internet content consumption shooting through the roof in Nigeria, demand for phone accessories and other phone gadgets is projected to increase.
And that's a huge market of willing buyers for a phone accessories business. You could be making serious money right from the start if you locate the business in the right location with sufficient foot traffic.
Digital Marketing
In my experience, digital marketing is the fastest earning business I've ever engaged in.
If you know the sheer amount of people who want to get their products and services online in Nigeria but don't know how to, then you will know how lucrative this business is.
As of 2018, someone paid me 50k Naira just to run an email lead ad on Facebook to collect 100 lead emails. Guess how much that ad cost me? Just under 5k Naira.
I delivered 117 lead email addresses and the client was happy with the deal. I in turn, smiled to the bank with a 45k Naira profit.
The good thing about digital marketing is that you can leverage it for different kinds of online businesses and there is no shortage of clients.
Here are some of the businesses that might need your digital marketing services:
- eCommerce Merchants
- Dropshippers
- Digital Arbitrageurs
- Content Creators
- Digital researchers
- Information marketers
- NGOs & Agencies
- HR & Recruiters
- Small businesses
- Real Estate companies
- Etc.
You could serve both big and small clients, and they'll often be happy to pay whatever fee you charge.
If you can create a strong brand for your digital marketing business in Nigeria, and you're known to deliver good results, then you'll make the kind of money that you never imagined you could make with this business.
Internet Data Business
Do you know that over 40% of Nigeria's population have access to the internet? That's a whopping 80 million users who must purchase internet data to browse the web.
Apart from food, housing, clothing, and transportation, the internet is becoming one of the most essential industries in Nigeria.
You'll be leaving money on the table if you don't become a part of this digital revolution and make money for yourself.
I remember starting an internet data business in 2018. I launched on Twitter with just one network, and started getting buyers on the first day.
In the first week, I made an average of 8 sales per day. That is, from customers who don't know me from anywhere and decided to trust me by making payment first before getting their internet subscription package.
I was shocked and impressed at the same time. And that spurred me to continue the business until I launched my standalone VTU website, which is currently amassing thousands of customers on a monthly basis.
This is to show you that the market is fertile and you can start making money almost immediately from millions of willing customers.
Foodstuff Retailing
To be honest, I'm quite biased when it comes to the food business. It simply sells.
Foodstuff retailing has been a money spinner for years but this lucrative business has been left for mom and pops to run.
I believe that nothing stops any young person from going into this business. There's serious money in it, and you must not run it by yourself.
If you feel that the business is beneath you, then hire someone else to run it, then provide the management to oversee it.
There's nothing like small money or dirty money. Money is money, and as long as a business brings in money, you should continue to invest in it and keep it running.
A foodstuff retail business sells no matter where you locate it, and is one of the fastest moving businesses I recommend for anyone to start in 2024.
Local Transportation
Transportation is an essential service, and is stonewall guaranteed to make money right from the first day.
Local transportation could be motorcycle, tricycle, minibus, or even trucks. As long as you convey people to and from a particular locality, you'll make good money.
The good thing about transport business is that you can start a fleet, and use digital tools to monitor operations, and your money will be flowing in consistently.
This could be a passive income business for busy executives or civil servants looking to put their money to work, towards making substantial daily income.
There's a recent video making the rounds on social media by popular socialite Asher Kine, where a particular minibus driver disclosed that he makes an average of 35k Naira per day.
That's easily over 200k Naira per week, and over 800k per month. How many people in Nigeria can boast of such earnings?
Creating & Selling Digital Assets
In recent years, digital assets have started changing hands for big money. Facebook groups, Instagram pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, Tiktok pages, websites, mobile apps, etc.
In fact, it has now become a career of sorts to create these kinds of digital assets, grow them to a respectable level and flip them for profit.
There are different ways to go about this. You could create a digital asset from scratch and sell, or you could buy a budding digital asset, grow it or add more features, and then flip for profit.
If you are active on Facebook, you could have come across groups where people buy and sell digital assets.
I've sold a few of these digital assets. In 2017, I sold a website. In 2021, I sold a Twitter page and a Facebook page. In 2023, I sold another website, and in 2024, I sold a YouTube page.
This proves that there is a market for selling digital assets. As long as you can create an online platform that has value, someone would be willing to pay for it.
Shoe Boutique
There was a popular digital marketing campaign that made the rounds a while ago. It reads, “everyone wears shoes”, and then goes on trying to sell a particular brand of shoe.
And that's right. Not only does everyone wear shoes, everyone buys shoes. The market for shoes is huge and global.
Selling shoes is just like selling other essential products such as clothes, food and shelter. You'll definitely find someone who needs your product.
A shoe boutique is a niched business that is positioned to easily attract customers of different kinds, from corporate and casuals, to kiddies.
There's a shoe boutique around where I live. They sell shoes of all kinds for females, males, and children, and they get a lot of customers on a daily basis.
In fact, the shoe I'm wearing right now was bought from that shop.
One thing I noticed about that shoe boutique is that they display shoes that are in vogue, especially those plastic Crocs shoes, outside of the shop to attract customers.
And it seems to work, as children walking with their parents tend to notice these shoes and drag their parents to the shop.
That's quite an interesting marketing strategy, and it proves that a niche shop for shoes could be a really profitable venture if you position well and have the right products.
Mini-mart
Mini-marts are one of the fastest moving small businesses anyone can start in Nigeria, especially those ones located in residential areas.
Most mini-marts sell fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) that people use on a daily basis, and this guarantees that they will always generate sales on a daily basis.
The good thing about a mini-mart is that they have quick turnovers and prices can change so quickly that profits on old stock could increase sharply.
I know this because my mum used to own one. If she buys 100 quantities of a product and the price increases before the product goes out of stock, she's likely to double her profit on the old stock.
Most people are not quite impressed with a mini-mart business due to the low profit margin. However, the volume of sales usually cover up for that and makes for a reasonable profit.
Local Pharmacy
A local pharmacy in the neighborhood is a life saver, but also a money spinner.
Nowadays, a lot of people in Nigeria prefer to get drugs for simple ailments rather than to visit the hospital.
In fact, most pharmacies are now smart enough to employ resident pharmacists, nurses, and first aid attendees to provide first response medical services.
The good thing about a local pharmacy is that their products are priced at huge margins, especially for prescription sales.
To start your own pharmacy, you have to employ the services of a registered pharmacist and have them registered on the company's board.
There are also other licenses and permits that are required by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) before you can own a pharmacy in Nigeria.
The business is however capital intensive, and might be classified as a medium scale business in Nigeria.
Second Hand Clothes Business (Okrika)
Okrika business has been known to be a fast moving business in Nigeria. In fact, the popular “bend down select” phrase was coined from Okrika vendors selling their wares at popular locations.
With statistics showing that over 40% of Nigeria's population are living under the poverty line, people are increasingly looking for where to purchase cheaper wears.
If you notice, at bus stop locations around Nigeria, people patronize vendors selling second hand or used items. From clothes and shoes, to household goods.
With the global second hand market estimated to be valued at $350 billion and Nigeria’s inflation biting harder, the Okrika market is now becoming the default way for Nigerians to purchase their clothing.
Most people start their Okrika clothes business with a bale or two of similar items and then pivot their business as patronage increases.
You could start with tshirts, denim trousers, or female wears, and then ascertain the most in-demand items, and then double up on them.
If you can find a match between the most in-demand wears and the right location for your Okrika business, you'll be making some serious money.
Rental Services
A rental service business is not just a fast moving business but a sustainable one.
The startup cost may be high, but after setting up the business, the cost of operations and maintenance is quite a breeze.
Rental services thrive because people do not want to purchase items or equipment for single use, especially for events and one-time construction projects.
You could set up a rental service to serve occasions and events, or you could set up one to serve construction projects.
It is important to notice that while rentals for events are done on a pay-per-rent basis, equipment rentals for construction are usually done on a contract basis.
So, it's important that you understand the modus operandi of the industry, and even establish contacts before launching your rental services business.
Exam Tutorial Center
Exam tutorial centers are not about to become extinct in Nigeria. They provide a very essential service to the educational sector and the value created in that ecosystem is far-reaching.
Every year, millions of young Nigerians sit for SSCE and JAMB exams across the country, and they need help to prepare adequately for these exams.
More so, now that these exams are now computer-based, and many students have little or no experience using a computer.
These exam tutorial centers have now become an essential part of the educational system in Nigeria, where millions of exam candidates troop in every year to get help in preparing for their exams.
The average cost per student is 5,000 Naira, and these centers get thousands of students both for GCE and JAMB classes.
To run an exam tutorial center, you should have the educational management skills to create robust curricula for students and hire very good tutors for each subject.
You have to also factor in how to get the classroom space for your tutorial centers. Some tutorial centers operate like schools from morning to evening, while others run only evening classes.
The tutorial centers that operate like schools often rent their own space while the ones running only evening classes utilize makeshift spaces such as schools and church halls.
The thing with exam tutorial centers in Nigeria however, is that it's a seasonal business.
GCE exams in Nigeria now take place between January and February, while Jamb takes place around March or April.
So, tutorial centers usually have full classes from October to January for GCE candidates, and January to March for Jamb candidates. The rest of the year is usually an off season.
Most savvy tutorial centers usually evolve their service to start offering after school tutorials for secondary school students, and this usually keeps their centers active all throughout the year.
If you can have dedicated teachers with good track records, you could build a trusted tutorial center that attracts lots of paying students on a monthly basis.
Courier Services
Courier and dispatch services are an essential part of the Nigerian commercial sector.
Every day, millions of goods are bought and sold, and there is a need to move these goods from place to place.
You can start as an independent courier service and market your business to merchants, especially eCommerce merchants on social media.
A thriving niche in the eCommerce space where new courier services can thrive is the pay-on-delivery niche.
Nowadays, due to scams and some merchants selling substandard products, customers do not want to pay upfront until they have seen the product and confirmed its quality.
A lot of eCommerce merchants in Nigeria, myself included, are looking for trusted courier services that can deliver their goods and collect payments on their behalf.
If you can set up your courier service business as a trusted partner for eCommerce merchants, you'll be getting a lot of delivery orders on a daily basis.
On the average, courier services charge 2,000 Naira per product, and they could deliver hundreds of products per day via order clusters by area or location.
Imagine delivering just 50 orders per day. That's easily 100k Naira in daily revenue. Take out about half of that for fueling and other expenses, and you have a healthy profit of 50k Naira per day.
Not a bad income if you ask me.
Mini Importation
If you think that the days of mini importation in Nigeria are over, kindly think again.
People are still making money with mini importation, only that nowadays, you need to do more research if you want to be profitable.
In other words, you need to find a market that needs a particular product and have the required purchasing power.
If possible, you can collect payments for products before making orders to import them. This is even another emerging niche in itself, where merchants pay you to help them import particular products for their businesses.
You need to be conversant with the unit economics though, if you want to stay profitable.
These days, the government has become aggressive in collecting import duties for products coming into the country. So, you have to factor that into your costs or find a way to use cheaper courier services for your mini importation.
The good thing about mini importation is that it's a high margin business. The last time I did mini importation, I bought eyeglasses at unit costs of 220 Naira and sold them for 1,800 Naira each.
That's over 700% in profit. So, if you invested 100k Naira into such a venture, you should be expecting a profit of more than 700k.
This proves how profitable mini importation can be if you do your research and find a product that can sell fast.
Fabric Shop
I never knew how lucrative a fabric shop can be until I started wearing Nigerian traditional attires.
I had to first purchase the cloth material at a fabric shop, and that's when I noticed that this business is an actual money spinner.
At this particular fabric shop, there were so many customers that it took a while before it was my turn to make a purchase. Customers range from individual users like me, to cloth retailers and even tailors making purchases for their customers.
So, I started wondering, if it cost on average 3,000 Naira per yard of material, and this many customers at a time, then this shop must be making some serious money.
And mind you, I bought about six yards of cloth material, and that was probably a small purchase, compared to what other customers were buying. Plus, they sell other items such as zips, buttons, and embroidery materials.
So, in my head, the calculation was that this fabric shop gets at least 50 customers to buy a minimum of one yard of cloth material per day.
That's a minimum daily revenue of 150k Naira. And by minimum, I'm talking about the barest minimum, probably what this fabric shop makes on a rainy day.
Now, compare that to what they can actually make on a good day, and you'll begin to see how lucrative this business is.
Crypto Trading
I had to put crypto trading on this list because it has the potential to bring in fast money.
I know that I've written about my bad experience trading crypto in the past, but that negative outcome was fueled by greed.
I was trying out a lot of things without much experience, and utilized an oversized leverage that guaranteed the liquidation of my trades.
Now, I'm wiser and I believe that if you avoid using leverage, and trade only the spot market with a sizable capital, then you can make good money with crypto.
All you have to do is buy low and sell high. Strictly stick to that system, and you'll become profitable in the long run.
Gaming Shop
A gaming shop is a set-up-and-go business that has some impressive cashflow.
I used to patronize game shops in the past and I know how much I spend in the few hours that I visit the shop.
On the average, a customer can spend 500 Naira, with each game play costing about 100 Naira.
So, if you have just 10 customers per day, you'd be making around 5,000 Naira per day and over 100k per month.
The biggest expense for a game shop is usually electricity, with a generator required to supplement the epileptic power supply in Nigeria.
If you can afford a solar power installation, then that would be a game changer, ensuring that your operational costs stay low and your margin stay high.
A typical game shop in Nigeria will have a sizable space with at least two TVs and game consoles, and then comfortable seats for customers.
Betting Agent Business
Recently, someone told me that sports betting has become a major employer of Nigerian youth.
With little to no jobs for young people in Nigeria, most youth are now depending on sports betting to survive.
In fact, I tweeted in the past about how sports betting is now giving hope to Nigerians, as the government has largely failed to do so.
Nigerian youth are not just buying tickets for games that may turn out in their favor, they are simply buying hope to encourage themselves to continue striving.
What this means is that sports betting has grown to be a gigantic money spinning industry that can put money in your pocket faster than you ever imagined.
A betting agency business is easy to start, with more than 5 available sports betting brands available in Nigeria.
You could easily set up shop in a good location, and apply to be a sports betting agent with one of the popular sports betting companies.
Most sport betting companies require agents to have a startup capital to be used in purchasing tokens, which means that after making expenses in shop rent, computers, furniture, and generator, you'll need to have at least 200k Naira set aside as working capital.
The good thing with a sports betting agency is that for every ticket printed, you earn a commission, and you don't incur any losses for winning tickets.
This means that all you have to do is print tickets to make money, and there's also other avenues to make money apart from printing tickets, such as virtual sports betting.
The most popular sports betting company in Nigeria, Bet9ja, pays a maximum commission of 20% per printed ticket, which means that with a capital of 200k Naira, you could make a profit of up to 40k Naira from non-virtual bets alone.
With the volume of sales possible, you could rinse and repeat that 200k to continually make 40k profit at different intervals, which is dependent on how many customers place a bet through your account.
I have a friend in Abuja who runs a sports betting agent business and he makes a lot of money by operating multiple betting shops with his agent license.
He disclosed to me that on average, one shop makes him 70k in revenue per day, with about 50% of that spent in running the shop.
So, a sports betting shop gives him 35k Naira per day in profit. If he runs the shop everyday of the week, he could be making over 1 million Naira per month.
That's crazy money for just one betting shop. Now, imagine what this guy makes by operating more than 5 of these betting shops.
Your guess is as good as mine.
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